{"id":352247,"date":"2024-01-30T16:26:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T21:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/criminal\/criminal-procedure\/capital-punishment-at-the-federal-level.html"},"modified":"2024-01-30T16:26:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T21:26:43","slug":"capital-punishment-at-the-federal-level","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/criminal\/criminal-procedure\/capital-punishment-at-the-federal-level.html","title":{"rendered":"Capital Punishment at the Federal Level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Capital Punishment at the Federal Level<\/h1>\n
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\n By Sarah Williams, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Melissa Bender, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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Capital punishment is also known as the death penalty. The death penalty for serious crimes is federally legal, though it used to be banned. Federal courts have limited how and when states can use capital punishment. <\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

Like many U.S. states<\/a>, the federal government has employed capital punishment for certain federal offenses, such as killing a government official, kidnapping that results in death, running a large-scale drug enterprise, and treason.<\/p>\n

The article below explores capital punishment in federal criminal law, its expansion, and statistics related to federal executions. But the law continues to evolve as new cases challenge its constitutionality. In a criminal case with fatal stakes, seeking counsel from a criminal defense lawyer<\/a> can be of vital importance.<\/p>\n

Federal Courts Previously Banned Death Penalties<\/h2>\n

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down state death penalty statutes in Furman v. Georgia<\/i><\/a> <\/i>in 1972. The Court found that death penalty cases violated the Eighth<\/a> and 14th<\/a> amendments of the U.S. Constitution when applied in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner.<\/p>\n

This only resulted in a moratorium (temporary ban) on death sentences under the old federal death penalty statutes. But four years later, Gregg v. Georgia<\/i><\/a> renewed the possibility of a death sentence. <\/p>\n

Expansion of Federal Death Penalty Laws<\/h2>\n

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a federal death penalty law called the Anti-Drug Abuse Act<\/a>. The new statute included murder in the course of a continuing criminal enterprise such as a drug-trafficking conspiracy. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act<\/a>, which expanded the federal death penalty to 60 crimes.<\/p>\n

Two years later, in response to the Oklahoma City bombing of a federal building, Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act<\/a> of 1996. The AEDPA, which affects both state and federal prisoners, restricts review in federal courts by:<\/p>\n